Seattle Seahawks 2023 Delta Community Captains

Jema Hayes has received the Delta Community Captain award for her great work at Museum of Flight. Jema currently oversees three STEM Learning education programs: Aeronautical Science Pathway, Private Pilot Ground School and Aeronautical Explorations. In her role as Program Coordinator, Jema makes sure that calls are returned, forms are completed, students are accounted for and high school and college credits can be received—all while maintaining her high-energy, results-oriented, can-do approach. 

Delta Air Lines is the exclusive airline funding partner for the Private Pilot Ground School.

This program is a three-week intensive look into the world of aviation. Students leave the program with a base of aeronautical knowledge needed to successfully pass the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot exam.

Introducing our newest Delta Community Captain, Coach Robert Banks of Dimmitt Middle School! Coach Banks has been the head security guard and basketball coach at Dimmit for many years, making a tremendous impact on the daily lives of his students both on the court and in the hallways. He has been buying shoes for students behind the scenes and out of his pocket for over a decade to be sure that anyone who needs them has access to them. Additionally, Coach Banks has been a driving factor in creating a game room for students to hang out in a safe place before and after school. To recognize the impact Coach is making at Dimmitt Middle School, Seahawks surprised him with a school assembly bringing the Seahawks spirit and donating shoes from Blitz Kick4Kids program to support his efforts to continue to be sure any child has a great pair of shoes for school or sports.

Monica is Mother of LCpl Eric L. Ward, who was KIA in Afghanistan, and Co-Founder of Gold Star Families of Washington, a state-wide group finding strength in the fellowship of other Gold Star Families who strive to keep the memory of those we have lost by continuing to serve our local military community. Monica advocates for Gold Star Families day in and day out and goes above and beyond to provide wrap around services and one-of-a-kind experiences for them. During our Salute to Service month, Monica volunteered at Seahawks Military Family Day welcoming military families to Lumen Field for a fun day on the field with their family. During her time volunteering, Seahawks and Delta surprised her with recognition as a Delta Community Captain for being a servant leader in supporting our military, Veterans, and their loved ones.

Aaron Czyzewski with Food Lifeline has been recognized as a Delta Community Captain award for his work as part of a state-wide effort to support the more than 160,000 service members, reservists, veterans, and their families that live in and around Washington State's 6 active-duty military bases. Aaron is key voice in the establishment of the Washington Military Family Hunger Advocacy Campaign which aims to unite people and organizations across Washington to build support for key legislation like the Military Food Security Act of 2023 which provides expanded eligibility for expanded access to food assistance benefits. In December, with the help of Geno Smith, Seahawks and Delta employees volunteered for a food re-pack at the Seattle warehouse and donated $10K to Food LifeLine to support Aaron's efforts with Washington Military Family Hunger Advocacy Campaign.